One lecturer was heard saying of a student: “I thought I’d have to get a drill and start drilling my teeth they were so painful to be listening to.”
The President of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) has issued an apology after footage leaked of students being insulted by lecturers assessing their online presentations.
Footage of two lecturers discussing the presentations – with the lecturers oblivious to the fact that a video link was still visible to students – leaked online over the weekend and was circulated widely on WhatsApp and social media applications.
In the footage, the lecturers can be heard criticising the efforts of the students and using offensive language while doing so.
“I thought that fu**ing [NAME] would never… and he’s sick that lad, I didn’t like to… and eventually I said I have to do something and he still didn’t stop,” one of the lecturers could be heard saying of one student.
“That’s enough for me, I couldn’t take much more of them anyway, I was exhausted…” the other lecturer said of another student.
“The other fella [NAME], I thought I’d have to get a drill and start drilling my teeth they were so painful to be listening to,” she added.
Speaking about another female student, meanwhile, one of the lecturers asked: “Has [NAME] something wrong with her?”
“Funny, I was thinking that,” the other lecturer responded.
“I was saying – before I make a decision on voice and body language – she was so slow speaking that I was wondering… I thought the very same thing. I thought I’d better check Access to see if she’s on the list some place for something.”
Access in this instance refers to a computer system used by third-level institutions to log background information on students, including, where relevant, details of special needs or disabilities.
On Monday, Dr Orla Flynn, President of GMIT, issued a statement apologising for the data breach and added that apologies would be issued directly to the students concerned.
"I would like to wholeheartedly apologise to our students for the data breach that has caused such deep hurt and dismay,” the statement read.
“GMIT is known as a student-centred institute and some of the comments made by our staff do not reflect the values to which we aspire.
“We are taking the breaches of GMIT policies and data protection legislation very seriously.
“Apologies will be issued to the students directly concerned.”
